Master Builder
by Plaidface
Summary: There aren't many earth ponies in the Royal Guards or among the Canterlot elite nowadays. Instead, they're relegated mostly to menial labor. This is no accident. It's a calculated move on the Princesses to safeguard ponykind from the most dangerous race to ever walk Equestria. This is the tale of the rise and fall of the ancient earth pony empire.
Master Builder by Plaidface

* * *

Chapter 1

"Well we're all going to die," I said under my breath.

And really my positive outlook was already coming true. Thousands of earth ponies poured down the hills towards the advancing unicorn columns. They instantly met a massive barrage of pink energy bolts which cut them down by the hundreds before they could even return fire. Not that it really mattered though since not every earth pony was armed, and those that did only had a few rounds in their bolt action rifles.

Apparently the unicorns in their infinite wisdom shot at their enemies instead of throwing ponies at them. But to each his own. Our way was clearing working as demonstrated by the ghastly mounds of dead earth ponies beginning to pile up around the unicorn columns. Well, to our credit at least the flesh road blocks were slowing down the unicorn advance a bit, and it did obscure their line of fire somewhat.

Ouch!

I reeled from a crack of a whip across my back. I turned to see my Sergeant glowering down at me, whip in one hoof and a revolver in another aimed threateningly close to my head.

"Fight harder Conscript!" he spit. "I will not tolerate being overrun!"

"Yes Sergeant," I whimpered back. Yes, because whipping me will somehow make this thing shoot deadlier bullets.

I grimaced and returned to feeding the ammunition belt into the machine gun. The bullets passed through my hooves rhythmically as it chugged out steady bursts at the unicorns. My bleeding back aside, I was glad to at least be back up here in the trench line than out in the open fields below. It wasn't because I was afraid to die but because I didn't feel like running.

I knew I was screwed the moment I was drafted. Many ponies from my city were drafted before me, and not one of them was ever heard from again. Despite the government's best efforts, rumors of whole armies getting decimated and entire cities being wiped off the map ran rampant. It was only a matter of time before I joined the statistic whether it was as a conscript or as a civilian. And frankly I didn't care. I was sick of not getting fed, sick of the cold, sick of getting whipped by incompetent ass hats, and sick of forced marches with little sleep. I just wanted this to be over, and I'll be damned if I couldn't at least wait for death sitting down.

That distinction was going to be moot in a few minutes though as our covering fire hardly scratched the paint off the unicorn _Ferdinand_ tanks leading the advance. Around me I could hear the boom of our anti-tank guns but they too barely got through their energy shields, and bounced harmlessly off their sleek sloped armor on the other side.

Even more futile was our own _Firesprite_ tanks spread sporadically throughout the mass of charging earth ponies. They were far smaller than the unicorn tanks, cute even by comparison. The _Firesprites_ bellowed black smoke as they desperately tried to close the distance where their short stubby guns could hope to do something.

Much to nopony's surprise none succeeded. The big long elegant guns of the _Ferdinand_ pierced clean through their thin armor and splashed scorching plasma at the infantry trying to take cover behind them. The hit _Firesprites_ burst into spectacular flame balls and lit even more ponies on fire.

What an appropriate name for a tank. If only the Sergeant was out there whipping the _Firesprites_ ; then we might have a chance.

"Not one step back. We shall fight tooth and hoof for every inch of our sacred motherland and push the vile invaders back!"

About the only thing that worked as intended in our arsenal seemed to be the loudspeakers which blasted motivational propaganda throughout the trench system. And really, what's not motivating about, "Everypony fight to the last stallion! Anypony who runs will be summarily executed!"

Still, it was rather impressive that the broadcast was clearly audible even through the din of gun shots and explosions. Probably should have used that technological know-how on something a bit more useful though.

"The treacherous pegasus and unicorns violated the peace treaty which stood for fifty years, and descend upon our beautiful motherland like rapid dogs," the broadcast continued. "They laid waste to our cities and slaughtered millions of our brothers and sisters. Yet we stand tall and resolute! Justice is on our side and we shall vanquish them with righteous fury!"

Vanquish? Hell I was hoping for just a stalemate. Where do I sign up? Oh wait…

"Incoming Pegasus!" somepony shouted.

I turned to see a nearby anti tank gun get engulfed in a hail of bullets. The gun crew was shredded, turning their position into a mess of flesh and metal. Looking up I saw several dozen more pegasus streaking towards us from behind their cloud cover, shoulder mounted machine gun blazing.

My gunner turned our machine gun skyward and opened fire as did most of the machine guns in the trench line. Further behind our position, flak guns also came to life throwing up black puffs of shrapnel into the chaos of tracers. It wasn't enough though. The pegasus could strafe us from outside the range of our own machine guns, and our flak guns were too slow to track such fast moving targets. We went from boned to ultra boned in ten seconds flat.

Suddenly a deafening thunderclap pounded my rib cage. Turning, I saw a brilliant red halo in the sky spreading in all direction with a similarly red streak emanating from the center. I traced the red streak with my eyes towards the ground just in time to see a pegasus impact straight into the trench line a few hundred meters away. Lightning bolts crackled across where the pegasus touched down like menacing tentacles. Jaws half open I momentarily stared, transfixed by the sheer beauty of the lethal spectacle…until I realized I now had to contend with electrocution as a possible way of death.

Getting melted by energy bolts though still seemed like the top contender. The unicorns were almost at the foot of the hills now and close enough that I could clearly make out the unicorn soldiers behind their _Ferdinands_. The earth ponies still trapped between them and the trench line tried running back up the hill in vain. They climbed over ponies both dead and alive in desperate madness but were slaughtered by the crossfire.

Energy bolts were whizzing past me now, some close enough that I felt the heat singe my mane.

Aaaahhhh!

My gunner fell back in pain clutching his face. Through the gap in his hooves I saw that half his face was melted clear to his skull. What looked like egg yolk drooled out of his eye socket. He flailed on the ground screaming for a cruelly long time until he finally stopped moving altogether.

I tried only looking at his unburnt side, attempting to recall his name. He was the third gunner I've had in just a few days on the front and I didn't remember him from basic training, though that was only a week long session of getting whipped. I was drawing blanks. My gunner lay there silent and unknown.

"Stand and fight! There will be no quarter for cowards!" I heard my Sergeant yell hoarsely.

Earth ponies were abandoning the trenches in droves now, running away from the inevitable unicorn breakthrough. The Sergeant shot the conscripts in the back as they tried to make a break for it.

"You there," I heard him say. "Get on that damn machine gun and return fire!" But I just stood there rooted to the ground, staring at the nameless gunner.

Now that death was mere moments away I wasn't so sure about my fatalism. I mean, did I have anything to really live for? Will Equestria be any different if I lived or died? Well...no. I had no wife, no children, or even a career. But dammit so what? Didn't I deserve to live? And if not, what made other ponies more worthy of living? Why, because they have a family of their own? Gimmie a break, mere animals procreate. Why be judged as a sentient pony if your best argument for living is something any creature can do.

And what about the fucking generals who crapped out pure retardation into battle orders? Why should they get to sit in their little bunkers miles away from the disasters they created? I can picture them now stuffing their faces with cake and sipping tea while we starve out in the front. Hell, why can't it be me eating cake? For that matter why should I die without ever experiencing all of the pleasures of this world? Why should I suffer and toil for others anymore? We're going to lose this war anyways; why shouldn't I live it up before the ship sinks. I don't want to die here forgotten and alone like my gunner. I want to take a damn bath and sleep in a warm bed…no wait… make that a bath of Champagne and, and a bed of fine silk and leopard skin...in a giant mansion filled with exotic foods and staffed with beautiful mares and and…fame and glory and bits… yes I want more bits than I know what to do with and and a fast air ship to tour Equestria, and…and I want to live!

I realized tears were running down my cheeks now. I've had enough of this.

"Conscript I will not say it again! Get on that damn machi-"

I didn't let the Sergeant finish. I swiped him across the face with a nearby spade and tackled him to the ground. The look of pain and shock on his face disappeared into a macabre mush of flesh and bone as I beat his face in repeatedly. I kept hammering at his lifeless body until the shovel head was noticeably bent.

I may have continued on like that till the end of time until a sudden concussion blew me back against the trench walls. The ground heaved violently as if fissures were cracking, and hellish whistles rained from the skies. We were being bombarded. But it wasn't plasma blasts or pegasus thunderstorms. It was artillery. Our own damn artillery. In their desperation the bastards in their little bunkers were going to obliterate the entire trench line in the hopes of catching a few unicorns in the blast. They would sacrifice every last one of us just so they can retreat. If there was any shred of doubt left in my mind it was gone in that instant.

I grit my teeth and closed my eyes, covering my head with my hooves.

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity the barrage finally lifted. The ringing in my ears was replaced with an eerie silence. I pushed aside the debris that fell on me and cautiously crawled out of the trench.

Thick smoke now covered the landscape, enveloping the hills in darkness. I could hardly see anything were it not for the numerous fires which pasted the sky in infernal orange. The ground was littered with twisted equipment and mangled bodies, very few of them belonging to unicorns or pegasus.

But what did I care. I ran my hooves through my body in disbelief. I was alive and intact.

A wild smile crept across my face as I dashed towards the nearest corpse. I started looting it, ripping through his trench coat in search of anything of value. He had nothing on him but some personal photographs which I angrily tossed aside.

I moved to the next body. To my delight he had a half empty bag of dried carrot rations. I greedily dumped the content into my mouth with one hoof while continuing to go through his trench coat uninterrupted. He had nothing else.

I went from body to body like this, stuffing my pockets with cigarettes, bits, and random knickknacks that would make a kleptomaniac blush.

As I blindly ran around entranced by the treasure chests of flesh, I was startled by something suddenly grabbing my hind leg. My heart nearly skipped a beat as I instinctively bucked it off. It was a hoof. Turning, I saw a young officer lying weakly on the ground. He was suffering from a bad case of missing the lower half of his torso. He lifted his hoof at me again.

"Water..." he said in a strained and raspy voice. I was unimpressed.

"Sir, let me personally salute you for your fine display here today," I said coldly as I stomped on his neck. His eyes rolled back into his skull and he gurgled out his final breath. I stood over his dead body with grim satisfaction, a hint of sated revenge on my lips. The feeling was short lived.

Clopping and an approving laughter sounded from behind me. My blood froze. I realized then that in my madness I've been looting mostly worthless crap that didn't help the odds of my survival in the least. I hadn't even bothered to pick up a weapon yet. Luckily the young officer had a revolver on him. I snatched it up and quickly swung around in the direction of the laughter.

It was a white pegasus. He lay on his side, head propped up against a wrecked _Firesprite_. He looked far along into his middle ages and was far older than myself.

"You punish the shoguns who failed you this day with such spite and conviction. I like your spirit dirt pony. I did not think your kind capable of preening the weak." He scratched his groomed narrow mustache as he spoke, wrapped in thought.

He quickly waved his hoof as if to banish the notion.

"Ah, I mean you no harm dirt pony." He had a strange accent and spoke very deliberately in a calm soothing tone. "In fact, as a noble Samurai I can wish for no greater fate than death on the field of battle. But not all deaths are created equal yes?"

He was encased in ornate black armor almost from head to hoof. Overlapping layers of metal plates were tied together with blue silk cords, and the ensemble featured intricate lightening motifs in gold throughout. The helmet was particularly elaborate with an over sized wavy V protruding from where the forehead would be. It was no wonder the pegasus opted to take it off beside him. Guessing my revolver probably couldn't penetrate the armor, I stepped closer as he spoke to a get a better shot at his exposed head.

"There is perhaps only one stallion in all of Equestria worthy of taking my life." He stopped to cough up blood. "Being killed by a pathetic little worm here would be being cheated of my rightful destiny. No offense to you of course."

He was either the worst negotiator I've ever met or he wanted me to go ahead and blow his brains out.

As I got closer I realized he was lying in a pool of his own blood. For the most part his armor shrugged off the worst of the bombardment…except for a giant piece of shrapnel the size of my hoof lodged in his abdomen. He was also missing a third of one of his wings. Though the forward edges were covered in armor, the wings themselves were exposed. As a result he had almost no feathers left, and only the bony frames remained.

"Yes, I saw burning passion in your eyes when you killed that pony. You are one with business yet in this world. Surely you can relate to a life unfinished? As the artillery spared your life, so too does destiny decree I leave here alive."

I paused momentarily.

"Ah so you agree. You are most wise for a dirt po-"

"Actually I was just trying to figure out how to turn the safety off," I said pulling the hammer back.

"Wait wait," he sputtered in panic. "You need my help if you are to survive. The unicorns may have temporarily retreated but they will be back soon enough. And I know how your laughable excuse of an army works. You were supposed to fight to the death. They will shoot you on sight for desertion. Face it dirt pony, you are trapped between a rock and a katana's edge."

"And pray tell noble warrior…who is begging for his life," I facehoofed. "Excuse me for doubting your gift for persuasion but how exactly are you going to convince your pegasus and unicorn buddies to spare me?"

"I will do no such thing," he said matter of factly.

I shook my head exasperated.

"Ok I'm wasting my time here," I said cocking my head behind the iron sights.

"Wait wait," he screamed again, this time with a definitive tone of fear. "You did not let me finish. Yes our alliance wishes to exterminate every last one of you dirt ponies. However, there is a river not three kilometers from here which we can use to make our escape. Treat my wounds and I will be your sworn guardian for a duration I deem commensurate to service rendered."

"Duration for service rendered? Are you kidding me, you're going to backstab me as soon as you regain your strength. How stupid do you think I am?"

"Very stupid," he said plainly. "For you doubt the words of a true Samurai. I am honor bound to uphold any bargain I make. Do not worry my little dirt pony, I will continue to escort you after my convalescence until you are in relative safety."

"And why will I slow myself down dragging around a wounded pony?"

"You do not recognize me? I am Crown Prince Ikazuchi, the most powerful warrior in all of Equestria. My protection is well worth waiting for."

I rolled my eyes. "We hardly managed to kill any unicorn or pegasus today but one of the ones we managed to wound is the most powerful warrior in Equestria…right."

"What! You insolent fool. Did you not see that spectacular aerial dive I performed?"

Come to think of it, this pegasus' mane was the same fiery red color as that attack.

"That was you?"

"Yes. Only a handful of pegasus every generation can master it, and that was just a small taste of my powers."

As if to prove his point Ikazuchi labored against his wounds to create a few small sparks of lighting from his hoof similar to what I saw earlier.

I sighed lowering my revolver. "Alright Ikazuchi, let's get going."

" _Crown Prince_ Ikazuchi!" he corrected.

I started moving the gun up again.

"I mean yes yes, what I meant to say was Crown Prince Ikazuchi…will gladly allow himself to be called just Ikazuchi." He forced a nervous smile. "And what is your name my honorable dirt, I mean _earth_ pony?"

"I'm Raskoponikov. Most ponies call me Rasko for short."

"Nonsense. I shall grant you the full courtesy of your true name, Raskoponikov."

"Whatever. Common we're wasting time."

With that I knelt down and began inspecting his wounds.


End file.
